


School Run

by kitkatkaylie



Series: The Nanny and the Widow [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:21:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29720613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatkaylie/pseuds/kitkatkaylie
Summary: The children seemed to be constantly busy, and yet somehow Catelyn had managed to still factor in family time for them.Theon might have been slightly in love with her scheduling ability.
Relationships: Theon Greyjoy/Catelyn Tully Stark
Series: The Nanny and the Widow [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2164962
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	School Run

Theon thought that the Stark children were sweet, they may have been mischievous at times, but they were generally kind to one another. 

It helped of course that he was not alone in caring for them, as he had been in other households. No, he was there more to aid their mother with caring for them, help she needed when there were six in her care. 

And the mother? Well she was possibly Theon’s favourite part of the entire job. He knew he should not be attracted to his employer, but it was excruciatingly difficult when his employer was Catelyn Stark.

She was beautiful all the time, whether she was dressed up for work in her beautifully cut suits, or whether she was in a pair of old pajamas staring at the kettle willing it to boil faster.

Being introduced to the swimming pool that the Starks had on their property was merely the icing on the cake, especially when Catelyn had told him he was free to use it whenever he wished. Especially when he had gone to use it while the children were at school and found that she was also swimming, in a tight blue swimming costume that was only made sexy by the woman wearing it. 

It may have been ever so slightly inappropriate to only wear his tightest jeans and t shirts, but he had caught the appreciative looks she sent his way when he did. 

And Theon liked those looks.

He pressed his head against the steering wheel and sighed. There was no point in lusting over Catelyn, not when it was utterly futile. Not when he had to collect the young Starks from school and drop them off at various lessons and clubs. It was a tightly planned schedule. It had to be to get Robb and Jon to fencing, Sansa to her harp lesson, Arya to her water dancing lessons, Bran to rock climbing club, and Rickon to his play date at the park with Lyanna Mormont.

The children seemed to be constantly busy, and yet somehow Catelyn had managed to still factor in family time for them. 

Theon might have been slightly in love with her scheduling ability. 

He glanced at the clock. Right, go time. He had half an hour to gather the youngest three, then ten minutes to reach the secondary school to gather the oldest three. 

Catelyn had come with him the first few times, introducing him to her children’s teachers and making sure he knew the best places to park and where to pick them up.

First stop was Rickon’s classroom, he was released before the others, and Theon dutifully waited outside with the other parents here to collect their little angels. A few of them would greet him, but others preferred to stay in their little cliques and stare disdainfully at him.

He was sure that some of them were betting on how long he would last. 

Theon hoped that they all lost their bets, it would serve them right for their cruel smiles and tittering laughter.

He braced himself as the children were released, a horde of four year olds running to their guardians when the teacher permitted them. He’d almost been knocked over by Rickon once, and he did not want to repeat that.

“Theon!” Rickon all but flew across the playground and into Theon’s outstretched arms. 

Theon rocked as Rickon slammed into him, moving with the momentum. It always shocked him just how fast and strong the toddler could be, and Theon used some of Rickon’s own power to swing him up into his shoulders.

“Good day at school buddy?” Theon asked, as he started to walk to the door Arya and Bran would be released from. 

Rickon started to babble excitedly about his day, the games he’d played m, and the artwork he’d done, and the story he had heard at story time. 

It was far more chaotic when Arya and Bran were released, children spilled from the door and ran to their parents and guardians in wave after wave.

Theon could not tell which of the children reached him first, for they appeared almost in a blur at his side. It was a shame he had not been able to tell who was there first, for they soon fell into an argument about it.

“I was here first!” Bran whined, “I won the race today.”

Arya stuck her tongue out, “Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

The two of them could and would go on for hours if he let them, and Theon could already feel a headache brewing if they did. 

“Right,” He let go of Rickon’s legs just long enough to clap his hands, “If you can’t decide who won, then it is time for a rematch. Race to the car and I shall declare the winner.”

Bran and Arya exchanged suspicious glares but nodded, the pair of them were never able to turn down a competition.

“Ready? Steady? Go!” Theon called, and Bran and Arya started to sprint towards the car.

It was completely safe for them to do so, for there was no road between them and the car and neither would leave his sight. It was an added bonus that it would let them burn off a little energy before they had to sit in the car for a while. 

Rickon tugged on his hair as they followed them, trying to direct him like Theon was a horse. And, well, Theon did not care over much for his dignity when he could instead make a child in his care laugh.

He started to gallop, and was rewarded by a high pitched stream of giggles and some very odd looks from some of the stuffier parents. 

“Faster horsey! Faster!” Rickon shrieked in delight, tugging on his hair once more.

“Are you not going to name your noble steed, brave Ser Rickon?” Theon called back, increasing his pace ever so slightly.

“Faster, Smiler! Faster!” Rickon responded, just as they started to catch up with Bran and Arya.

Theon supposed he could have been called a worse name. 

“Last one to the car is a rotten egg!”

* * *

Theon breathed a silent sigh of relief to see that there was still a parking space available where he usually waited for the older three. It was a pain trying to find somewhere else and then contact the ones he was there to collect, 

Sansa was always earlier than her brothers, whether that was because she was let out earlier, or whether she just didn’t stand and natter with her friends, Theon was not sure. He just knew that she was always there before the two boys.

“Hi Theon!” She smiled, “Did you know Arya is pulling faces out of the back window?”

Theon glanced behind him, and sure enough she was, “As long as it keeps her from trying to braid Bran’s hair again she can pull all the faces she wants.”

Sansa giggled and climbed into the car. Her braid flung out and hit Rickon in the face, and for a moment Theon thought there might be tears, but the youngest Stark just giggled and tugged on it gently like it was a new game. 

“Rickon, don’t pull your sister’s hair.” Theon said absently, keeping an eye out for the last two children, “You wouldn’t like it if she pulled your hair. Why don’t you play with your wolf instead?”

There were no shrieks from the car, so he assumed that Rickon had dropped the hair in favour of his stuffed wolf. Either that or Sansa was showing off the impressive level of patience she seemed to only have for Rickon. 

It wasn’t long before a familiar pair started to walk towards them, Robb’s blazer was tied around his waist and Jon’s thrown over his shoulder, and somehow, for some reason, Jon’s tie was also being used as a hair band. It wasn’t the strangest state he had collected them in, but it was certainly up there. 

Robb blushed slightly, a reddening that was blatant on his pale cheeks, when he caught sight of Theon leaning against the door of the car waiting for them, and his brother elbowed him with a knowing grin. Robb and Jon were almost completely inseparable, and it was really no wonder they got away with telling people they were twins.

“Come on you two.” Theon called, “Speed up! Everyone is waiting for you.”

The pair hurried their pace, and Theon took a moment to be grateful for it. Undoubtedly in a few weeks they would start to act up, to push against the boundaries a little more, but for now they did exactly as he asked them. As soon as the boys were safely ensconced in their chairs, Theon ducked into the driver’s seat, ready to dash to their next destination. 

“There’s drinks in the bag on the middle seat,” He called back, glancing in the mirror to check on the kids, “And a snack for each of you as well. Robb, if you could hand them out please, and Jon, Sansa, if you could help the younger ones with opening theirs then that would be great.”

An excited babble started to fill the minibus as they discovered the snacks with their names on them, the ones that Theon had prepared for them when making their lunches that morning. The Stark children generally were not too fussy, not like some of the children he had cared for in Kings Landing, but they still had their preferences, and it did make life easier when those preferences were accommodated for. (And Catelyn always smiled at him so sweetly when he indulged her children a little, and that was more than enough reason to keep doing it.)

There wasn’t time to get them home for a snack, and he couldn’t send them unfueled for their various activities, so in the car it was. 

As the children started to eat so peace filled the air, and Theon let out a little sigh. He’d definitely be content to work for this family for a while.   


(Especially as it let him spend time with Catelyn.)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @istaricelebelasse


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